


Woy Mini-Fic-A-Thon 2016 - It's a State of Being, Not an Action

by 3amepiphany



Series: Woy Mini-Fic-A-Thon 2016 [4]
Category: Wander Over Yonder
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 13:40:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7363468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3amepiphany/pseuds/3amepiphany
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Valps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Woy Mini-Fic-A-Thon 2016 - It's a State of Being, Not an Action

**Author's Note:**

> http://omegalovaniac.tumblr.com/post/146779349244/for-the-woy-doc-a-thon-thingy-how-about
> 
> To submit a prompt: http://omegalovaniac.tumblr.com/post/146742635229/woy-mini-fic-a-thon

It was really important to Jeff that he stayed and tried to fix things.

At first he wasn’t really sure that he could. He’d done a lot of damage. But Tumbleweed was right there to take his hand after his ship was empty and his crew had left and he had no one else.. And that said a lot. It was difficult work transitioning from malevolent to benevolent and answering the calls for help from the kingdoms and planets and small empires he’d conquered; the eventual release of the deposed rulers and the assignment of them to their homes as “emissaries” in his name came without prompting from Tumbleweed, and he sort of marked that as the point where it became manageable.

Ease grew from there.

The galaxy healed itself and he did his best to help it, and the day that he’d called together all of the leaders and dignitaries that he had once held captive and then entrusted with his representation and told them he wished to move from a singular head of domain to a federation of sorts, he realized, yeah, that’s pretty chill, alright.

“All this time I thought the heavy burden of being a galactic despot was something I could carry through anger and aggression, but it strikes me as really odd to look at that ideal now,” he said, after the hustle and bustle of that announcement was done. “Where did it come from? What within me saw that as sustainable…?”

The star-nomad tipped his hat and sat down in the chair closest to him. “I think the ambition was perfect for what it was. The end result was just different. That’s all.” He rested his chin in his hands and smiled.

Jeff smiled back at him, tiredly. “There’s still a lot of work to do, though. Once things are set up and running I kind of just want to disappear for a while. Go visit some beaches and see some supernovas. Relax and not worry about anything at all and maybe pick up a new hobby or a sport or something. Bowling, maybe.”

“I like bowlin’,” Tumbleweed laughed.

They went quiet for a while, and simply looked at each other. He imagined that he was still so readable, having always been so full of raw and uncapped emotion that even with it all now at the other end of the spectrum it was still brimming over his edges. Tumbleweed was as indecipherable as usual; that soft, sweet smile on his face like a default setting and his eyes mischievous and full of wisdom.

“I really do have you to thank,” said Jeff, finally. There really was a lot more he wanted to say, and he couldn’t think of a time where it hadn’t been like that. In his anger and rage he was speechless, in his vulnerability he was forgetting and learning words in confusion and growth, in his happiness he found that there was also peace without them.

“This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Valps,” Tumbleweed told him. That was a little bittersweet - it was what Inkers had always yelled during the times they were maliciously pursuing Tumbleweed to get rid of him. Jeff wondered what Inkers was doing now, but he didn’t spend a whole lot of time on that thought because it made him sad to think that his second-in-command, the one person who had been by his side for so long and trusted the most, couldn’t understand his change of heart and move forward in that direction with him once he was on his way. Instead he asked if they could just order a pizza or two for dinner and then turn in early. Tomorrow was going to be a big day full of business, statements, appearances.

He couldn’t sleep, however. He lay awake in bed that night, listening to Tumbleweed’s quiet snoring, and worried. How much longer would Tumbleweed stay? What could possibly keep him here if not Jeff? Would he be willing to wait now that Jeff had said he’d wanted to take off and travel a while?

Tumbleweeds were meant to roam. That was their nature. Even that wasn’t troubled by deadlines or necessity.

Tumbleweed was a nomad, and Jeff was holding him down in the hopes that he might thrive here in this galaxy with him, put down roots and bloom, and enjoy the efforts of his work on Jeff and with him. Keep building on this relationship. Keep filling this galaxy with his magic and stay. And stay. But Tumbleweed didn’t really _do_ , he just _is_ , Jeff had realized.

It was just a matter of time, though, he knew. Everything with this amazing, adventurous, persistent soul was a matter of time. It was inspiring and maddening simultaneously.


End file.
